OZ Project Greenest in 2015

OZ Project Greenest in 2015

Dec 10, 2015  | Architecture 

OZ Project Greenest in 2015
(Photo by: OZ Architecture)

The USGBC Colorado Chapter awarded the South Wing of the St. Vrain Community Hub Building with the title of Greenest Building in 2015, a part of their Commercial Real Estate Green Building Awards.

The new South Wing of the St. Vrain Community Hub in Longmont, CO has unique features that support Boulder County’s vision, values, and culture. The new building brings to life Boulder County’s vision of a one-stop center for health and human services that will improve the experience for clients, allowing them to receive integrated services from Community Services, Public Health, Housing and Human Services, and Mental Health Partners from one central location, ultimately leading to a healthier, more stable community.

The building will be the most sustainable building to date for client services in Longmont, targeting LEED Platinum. In order to achieve this high rating, Boulder County is pursuing credits in all areas of sustainability: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Compared to a standard ASHRAE 90.1 2007 compliant building, the design of the South Wing building at St. Vrain will result in 48% energy use savings and 43% energy cost savings and features a 91.5 kW PV system on the roof.

Unique elements include salvaged wood from a local church, a recycling/ composting program that includes hard to recycle items, a regional demonstration garden, rain gardens for stormwater management, and a comprehensive transportation demand management program that includes a bike maintenance area and electric vehicle charging stations.

  • This project addresses social equity issues by providing a beautiful building with the highest level of sustainability to a disadvantaged population. The look, feel and layout of the building have been purposefully designed to be welcoming to clients in order to help reduce feelings of anxiety and help eliminate stigma around accessing the services the County provides.
  • Boulder County is leading by example, primed to bring the first LEED Platinum building to Longmont.
  • To encourage new users, and ensure easy site access for clients and staff who walk, travel by bus, bike, or other methods of transportation, a strong emphasis was put on strategies that support alternative transportation programs.
  • Boulder County’s Net Zero Waste initiative pushes the limits of sustainability in their projects – providing commingled recycling and composting in all areas of the building (including composting in restrooms), a recycling station for hard to recycle items such as electronics, plastic bags and Styrofoam, and their philosophy flows into project construction – reducing materials, utilizing salvaged materials and recycling of construction waste.

Via OZ Architecture
Image,video ©: OZ Architecture